


(tomorrow) i'll be something better yet

by rasenna, siriusgalaxy



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Batfamily Feels, Bruce is a good Batdad, F/F, F/M, Kid Fic, M/M, Time Travel, Trans Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rasenna/pseuds/rasenna, https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriusgalaxy/pseuds/siriusgalaxy
Summary: An unexpected visitor from the future forces Dick and Wally to reevaluate some things; Theo Grayson-West just wants to get home.





	1. Chapter 1

If Tim had to guess, he’d put the child’s age at five or six. Young enough to be frustratingly vague, old enough to be vaguely frustrating.

The child had appeared with an implosion and a startled cry during the team’s weekly briefing, stopping Dick mid-sentence.

Young Justice had all turned just in time to see the kid’s freckled little face collapse into bewildered tears. As both security alarms and child wailed, Tim couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.

 

That had been about an hour ago; Dick had immediately crouched to comfort the child while the rest of the team watched hesitantly. Eventually, the child’s sobbing had subsided into watery green eyes and a surprising amount of suspicion. All that Young Justice had gotten out of them since was that their name was Theo and that they wanted their dads, immediately.

So now, Tim was babysitting a mystery child with Garfield while Dick went to call Batman. Garfield had managed to draw a few giggles out of Theo, and they were warming up to Tim enough that they no longer looked close to biting him.

“So,” Garfield said, hanging backwards off of the couch, “where do you think they come from?” 

Tim glanced at Theo again: they were definitely too young for sidekick work, but something about their abrupt refusal to divulge information and their narrow-eyed, observant gaze said they weren’t an average civilian. “Not Happy Harbor Elementary, for sure,” he said.

Just then, Dick came sweeping back in the living room, Batman and the rest of the team in tow.

It was an ill-kept secret that Batman was good with children, but most kids flinched at first upon spotting that grim figure. Theo’s reaction, however, was totally unexpected: They leapt up with alarming alacrity and shouted, “ _ Grandpa! _ ”

Tim had only seen Batman freeze before when someone asked him about the missing second Robin. But now, he definitely froze — and Dick froze as well — as Theo launched themself at Bruce and hugged one armor-clad leg. 

Tim and Dick exchanged faintly horrified glances, since “Grandpa” plus “Bruce” equaled some… concerning conclusions about paternity. 

Batman stared down at his unexpected limpet with unmitigated surprise, and then dropped into a crouch. He gazed deeply into Theo’s face for long heartbeats, and then said, “You take after your father, I see.” 

Tim did the math: Theo was olive-skinned, dark-haired, and stubborn as hell. Over Batman’s shoulder, Dick paled as he clearly came to the same understanding.

Theo grinned. They were, Tim noticed, missing several teeth; it was terribly endearing. “Yeah, I look like Papa! But Dad’s where I get my--” Theo screwed up their face in thought; “--special gift?”

“Special gift?” Batman repeated encouragingly.

Tim could practically see the rest of the team’s jaws drop at the implication in “papa” and “dad”, too distracted to pay their no-longer-brooding den mother much attention. Nightwing?  _ The _ lady’s man?

Theo nodded eagerly. “Watch this!”

They squinted, as if trying to solve a particularly difficult math problem. For a moment, nothing happened, and then -- 

Theo blurred, quite literally. After a couple of heartbeats, though, they slowed and stopped with a frustrated pout.

 

A short silence fell as the significance of Theo’s probable lineage sank in; everyone knew that talent was the domain of the Allen-Wests. Tim glanced up at Dick to gauge his reaction; the domino concealed his eyes, but the strong emotion in his face was still clear. That was the face of a man who had, after so long, seen a shadow of a dream.

Suddenly, Tim’s heart ached for his older brother; he’d known Dick was close with Wally for years, but he hadn’t realized just how close. And, of course, Wally was on the other side of the country and dating Artemis. Even if Tim was totally wrong about where Dick’s heart lay, it must hurt to see this.

 

Impossibly, Batman’s face gentled further. “Theo, do you know what year it is?”

The change in tack seemed to surprise Theo, but they offered gamely, “2029?”

Batman sighed. “I’m sorry, Theo; it’s 2015.” 

Theo frowned, and then their gaze snapped to Dick. “Wait. You’re--?”

Dick shifted uncomfortably before nodding silently. No one said anything, seemingly captivated by the drama unfolding.

“H-how do I get home?” 

And there it was: the big question. Tim almost had to look away to avoid breaking his emotionless Robin mask. Dick looked visibly gutted.

Evidently, Batman made a snap decision; he rumbled, “All right, everyone out! Nightwing, I need to talk to you. Robin--keep an eye on Theo.” 

With that, he whirled and left. Dick glanced back at Theo’s heartrending expression before swallowing and disappearing around the corner after Batman. 

Theo turned to Tim. “That’s...not really Papa, is it?” they said quietly. 

Tim sighed and knelt, folding his legs neatly under him. “He’s probably a lot different in your time, but -- I bet he’s still a Dick I would recognize.” Theo looked down at the ground, kicking their foot back and forth. They had well-worn light-up sneakers, Tim noticed with some amusement. 

“You’re different too,” they said finally. Tim tilted his head curiously; the domino meant he had to exaggerate much of his body language.

“Back home, you smile more. And Uncle Kon is always reminding you to get your hair cut -- it’s longer.”

Tim shelved the  _ Uncle Kon _ issue to handle later, since he could only handle so many revelations about his future relatives at once. He was certainly startled; after all, he could probably count the times he and Superboy had talked privately on one hand. But that wasn’t important to the mission right now. He really needed to know what Dick and Batman -- Bruce -- were discussing out in the hallway. 

Just as Tim was about to ask Theo if they needed anything, a loud rumbling emanated from a certain speedster’s stomach. Tim knew from past experience how hungry speedsters could get; he pushed himself to his feet and laid a hand on Theo’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go get you some food. It’s not much, but I’m sure it’ll help.” 

Theo sniffled up at Tim, and then before he realized it they were hugging him. He hesitated, unused to this amount of physical affection, before hugging them back. 

 

Tim was leading Theo down the long hallway to the kitchen when the sound of raised voices stopped him in his tracks. Theo made a tiny startled noise as they bumped into him, and he tapped their hand lightly as a signal for quiet.

He crept forward, Theo playing along, until he reached the doorway to one of the conference rooms. The door was slightly ajar, and Dick’s strident voice floated out into the hallway: “--about a future that’ll never happen!”

And there, Bruce’s tired bass: “You don’t know that, Dick. Just because Theo might not be a part of your future doesn’t mean that you aren’t a crucial part of theirs.” 

There was the sound of someone settling heavily into a chair with a sigh. Dick said, “They have Wally’s eyes. It’s… they’re everything I ever dreamed of.” All of the fight had gone out of his voice, leaving him sounding heartsick. 

“But you don’t think it’s anything Wally dreams of, too.”

“No. I gave that up a long time ago.” Rustling: Tim could just see Dick rubbing his temples. 

A sniffle broke Tim’s focus.  _ Oh. _

Seeing Theo’s glistening eyes reminded Tim that Theo could hear this too: their papa, heartbroken over their other parent’s unrequited interest. 

Tim pulled on Theo’s hand, giving it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s go get you that food,” he whispered. 

What a _ mess.  _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: this alternate universe mostly ignores Young Justice season two, with the exception of the new characters we know and love. Our timeline document is, uh, a mess. 
> 
> (But we love it anyway, just like we love our disaster batkids.)

Eventually, Theo had been coaxed into coloring with M’gann while Batman took control of the situation. Bat-drama or no, he was still as focused as ever. 

Tim found himself standing with Batman in the zeta room, waiting for the other half of Theo’s DNA to arrive. On any other day, he would be standing at crisp Robin-attention, but today Tim couldn’t help but fidget.

(It spoke to the severity of the situation that Batman hadn’t even even scolded him for it.)

Dick wasn’t present for this; Tim seriously doubted he could even look his best friend in the eye right now. So it was that Tim and Batman were the welcoming committee that greeted Wally West when he stepped out of the zeta tube. 

Wally was bright eyed, dressed in a ratty Stanford sweatshirt and well-loved, faded jeans. “What’s up, Bats? And Tim -- good to see you, kid!” 

Tim sighed imperceptibly; Wally had no idea what was about to hit him.

“There...has been a development,” Batman said carefully. Tim watched Wally swallow. Everyone knew that tone of voice.

“So, uh, how’s the world ending now?” Wally was clearly trying for nonchalant, but Batman never sounded that somber without a reason. 

“There’s something you need to see,” Batman said. “Well -- someone.”

“Okay, let me clarify something real quick. The world really isn’t about to end, right?”

_ Yours just might be about to _ , Tim thought grimly.

Glacier-slow, Batman rumbled, “No.” 

And that, Tim noted, was definitely Bruce stalling. 

Tim opened his mouth, but didn’t get a word out before Wally said, “Oh, hey, where’s Dick?” 

In reply, Tim turned on his heel and beckoned to Wally. 

Wally shrugged and trotted gamely along, tailed by the grim shadow of the Bat. 

 

Theo and M’gann were right where Tim and Batman had left them: coloring with total abandon in the living room. Theo looked up as Tim, Batman, and Wally entered; their eyes snagged right away on Wally. Dick they might not have recognized at first thanks to his domino and youth, but Wally’s face was unmistakable by comparison.

Green West eyes met green West eyes for a tense moment.

“Who’s the kid?” Wally said finally. 

Tim remembered the churning cycles of emotion at that age, and the ease with which grief could easily slide into anger. Evidently, this was the final straw for Theo -- who, after all, was heir to both the West and Wayne temperaments. 

Those green eyes narrowed, and Theo put down their marker with an angry little  _ tt _ .

“My name,” Theo said clearly, before anyone could stop them, “is Theo Grayson-West. And  _ you’re _ not my dad.” 

Silence, heavier than Kevlar, blanketed the room. 

“Theo...” Tim murmured, feeling obligated to break the moment. Their gaze, as sharp as bottle-glass, shifted to him.

He licked his lips. “Remember what I said about your papa? How he’s different, but still similar?” 

Tim felt Wally’s wide eyes on him, but he could deal with that later. For now, the primary objective was to calm his nibling down.

“Your dad is just a little shocked,” he said. “Just like you were when you figured out you weren’t in your time anymore.”

They were clearly still furious, but their eyes softened a bit as M’gann placed a comforting hand on their back. 

Wally’s eyes darted over this tableau before he finally choked out one word: “ _ Explain. _ ”

Once again, Batman assumed control of the situation. “M’gann, take Theo to Dick; they don’t need to see this.”

M’gann nodded and moved her hand to lightly grip Theo’s shoulder as Batman turned to Wally.

He gestured brusquely to the couch. “You, sit. Robin and I will explain as much as we can, but only if you agree not to panic. --Well, not overmuch, anyway.”

Wally nodded, eyes flickering between the Bat and the glaring child in M’gann’s grasp. 

 

Dick Grayson had seen a  _ lot _ of strange things in his time; such was the life of a vigilante. But this -- it wasn’t just strange. It  _ hurt _ , in that peculiar place in his chest where he hid away the tarnished dreams of a family, of the life he might have had but for a cut rope. 

He lifted his head wearily when he heard a knock at his door. The time had probably come for  _ that _ conversation, the conversation he desperately didn’t want to have with Wally.

But when he hauled himself to his feet and opened the door, it was M’gann and a mulish-looking Theo. 

When Dick looked to M’gann for an explanation, she shrugged and said, “Batman and Robin are handling Wally; Batman said Theo should come stay with you for a while.” 

Dick nodded, and when M’gann released Theo, they hesitantly stepped forward. 

Over their head, he projected, “ _ What happened?” _

After all, the last he’d seen of Theo, they’d been crestfallen and clinging to Tim, for sure -- but not so angry it was practically sparking off of them.

_ “Wally...panicked a little _ ,” M’gann said delicately. “ _ It was, understandably, upsetting for Theo _ .” 

Theo eyed Dick suspiciously. “Are you and Aunt Megan doing the thing?” Dick had to choke back a laugh. 

M’gann smiled at Theo. “I’m sorry, I was just telling --” She paused for a moment, obviously uncertain what to call Dick in front of Theo. 

“--your papa,” she finally said, the word jarring, “what happened with your dad.”

“I think I like past-you better than past Dad and Papa,” Theo declared, folding their arms. 

M’gann stifled a wince. Honestly, Dick had heard worse: such were the perils of living with Batman.

“Well, come in -- you can tell me all about what happened,” Dick said to Theo. M’gann took her cue and quietly left them to it.

Theo edged past him, those enormous green eyes surveying his room, and flopped on his bed. Dick decided it was a truly bizarre feeling to have his bedroom (at least, his part-time bedroom) judged by his future child.

“So…” Now that Dick was alone with Theo, he didn’t quite know where to begin. “Are you hungry?” he said eventually.

“Uncle Tim got me food,” Theo replied stiffly. 

“Uncle Tim, huh? He’s, uh, still around in your time?”

There was no other word for it: Theo gave him a funny look. “Uh, yeah. Dad jokes that I’ve got too many uncles.” 

_ Uncles, plural _ . “So who’s your favorite uncle?” 

“Uncle Jay, duh,” Theo said with a fond eye-roll. “He and Uncle Roy always get me ice cream when we hang out.”

Dick froze.  _ “ _ Uncle Jay,” he repeated. His voice sounded like it hadn’t seen use in a millennium.

Theo poked Dick in the leg inquisitively. “What’d I say?”

“Uncle Jay, huh?” It was a minor miracle that he didn’t sound more strangled than he did.

“Yeah, you know, he’s got the--” They gestured vaguely at their hair. “White bit.” 

“I -- I don’t know exactly who you’re talking about, Theo. Is Uncle Jay’s name Jason?”

“Yeah? I mean, I know he and Grandpa stopped talking for a while before I was born, but you knew him, right?”

“He -- he was my little brother.”

“Was?”

Too late, Dick remembered that this was possibly Jason’s five-year-old nibling.  _ Way to traumatize them _ , he thought. 

“He’s, um, gone, Theo.” Dick did not want to cause further mental damage to his possible child.

Theo’s brow furrowed for a moment, and then they brightened. “Oh yeah! Uncle Dami’s mom helped. He’s back just like Dad came back.”

_ Well then.  _

Could Dick’s day possibly get any more complicated? Uncle Dami? Wally dying? Jason coming back? There was too much to process and his brain was tired enough as it was. 

Thankfully, this trainwreck of a conversation was halted by a knock.

Tim poked his head in without waiting for a response. “Theo, want to come actually meet some of your papa’s teammates? They’re all really excited to talk to you.”

Tim offered a strained smile in Dick’s direction as M’gann’s voice floated into his head.  _ “Wally wants to talk to you. He’ll be there soon.” _

Dick shuddered at the thought, but he steeled himself and sent a quick thanks to M’gann. Theo grabbed his hand, assuming Dick would be accompanying them. Overcome by some deep rooted instinct, Dick dared to kneel down and place his free hand on Theo’s cheek. His breath hitched as he looked into their green, green eyes. 

“I’ve got something to do, kiddo. Why don’t you go with Uncle Tim, and I’ll see you in a little bit?”

Theo scuffed the floor with their foot. “ _ Fine _ ,” they said with a scowl. 

He stood up, ruffling Theo’s riotous dark hair --  _ his _ hair -- as he went. 

Theo rolled their eyes at the unwanted gesture before saying, “Later, Papa.” 

Those simple words echoed in Dick’s ears before settling with an ache in his heart.

  
  


When Tim finally gave him a thumbs up, Wally felt as though he was going to vibrate right through the floor. When he saw Theo walk out of the room, Wally couldn’t help but envision that future: a happy home with a laughing, freckled child and a loving partner.

He had always thought that that future would be with Artemis. And if it wasn’t with her, he wasn’t surprised that it could be with a guy. There was a reason for his excessive flirting with girls as a teenager, after all. But to see evidence that he and...and his best friend--?

No. He could worry about that aspect of the situation later, on his own, or maybe with Artemis. Right now, he needed to comfort his best friend.

Wally thought the moment that Robin revealed that he was Dick Grayson, billionaire and son of Gotham’s biggest asshole, would be the last twist in their friendship. But then Dick trusted him with a secret only those at the circus, Bruce, and Alfred knew.

His best friend was transgender. When Dick told Wally, his dumb speedster brain ran through the implications of that fact way too fast, and he started  _ giggling _ . Then Dick’s face had fallen, tears filling his eyes.

Before Dick could run away, Wally pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. He felt tears staining his shirt and he panicked, blurting out that, “ _ no, Rob, it’s not like that, I just got caught on the fact that you named yourself Dick, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I don’t know if this will make it better but I’m pansexual and I would never ever hate you for this, you’re my best friend and I’m sorry. Thank you for trusting me. I’m sorry.” _

 

Wally shook himself out of his thoughts. He had a mission, and he couldn’t focus on himself. No one else on team knew that Nightwing was trans, and they worked to keep it that way. Especially with Richard Grayson-Wayne having become an LGBTQ advocate, it was important to keep Dick’s identity under wraps.

And while Theo could have come about in a number of ways, their reveal was too close for comfort to outing Dick.

The moment Dick saw Wally, he shrank in on himself. In that moment, Wally felt a rush of relief that he had decided to confront Dick in his room instead of a more public or less comfortable location. This was hard enough for Dick as it was. 

Wally sat down on the edge of Dick’s bed, careful not to make it seem like he was uncomfortable near Dick, but also not to encroach on his personal space.

“How are you doing?” he said finally.

The question hung in the air for a moment before Dick looked up, eyes wide and shining.

His reply was barely above a whisper. “I’m scared.”

Wally’s throat closed. “Me too.”

A tear slipped down Dick’s cheek. “I’ve always tried to be completely honest with you. You have no idea how hard I fought with Batman to tell you my name.” A sob escaped Dick’s lips, and Wally watched his best friend struggle to speak. 

“Remember when we talked about our futures? Not where we wanted to go to college, what we wanted our superhero costumes to look like, what cities we wanted to protect. I asked you if you ever wanted to get married.”

Wally nodded, shutting his eyes tightly. “It was when you decided to ask Bruce to get top surgery the next year.” 

Dick looked down at his hands, streaks lining his face. “I always wanted a family. A husband or a wife, a couple of kids. I always wanted at least one of the kids to be genetically related to me, and I heard that testosterone can make you infertile.”

When Dick trailed off, Wally tentatively reached out to touch his knee. “You and Lucius worked for hours to get a voice modulator to have the pitch you wanted to make up for the lack of T. I’d never seen you so happy as when you used it for the first time.”

Dick covered Wally’s hand with his own. “Jas-” Dick hiccuped as he began to cry harder, looking up at Wally, “-on and Tim only confirmed how much I want a family. I love them so much and Theo--” 

Wally immediately gathered Dick into his arms as sobs wracked his best friend’s body. As Wally rubbed circles into Dick’s back, repeating soothing nothings into his ear, Dick whispered into his shoulder, “What if they figure it out? I can’t...I can’t deal with that.” 

“Are you kidding me? With our ridiculous lives, Theo being related to two dudes is just another Tuesday. Conner has two fathers, for goodness sake.” 

Dick nodded, curling up in Wally’s lap like he used to after a rough fight with Scarecrow or Two-Face.

“You don’t need to worry about it,” Wally said softly.

Dick suddenly bolted upright. “I have to...I have to go. We’ll talk about how to deal with being pa- with Theo in a bit, yeah?” He smiled weakly.

Ironically, before Wally had a chance to respond, Dick darted from the room.


End file.
